Is It Really Love?
by Unsuspected
Summary: Aphrodite hears a voice, and she doesn't like what she's being told. Is her favorite couple not meant to be? Why them, anyway? Takes place before The Battle of the Labyrinth, after the Titan's Curse. Slight Aphrodite/Ares and Percy/Annabeth


_They certainly weren't made for each other, you know,_ says a scolding voice in the love goddess's ear.

She turns to face it. There is no one to face, no source of the haunting words. "What do you mean? Who isn't a perfect match?" she asks to no one. Despite this, she expects a response. She is, after all, Aphrodite.

She gets one. _You know, _it sings, _your favorite couple, of course. You can't have forgotten so soon. Percy and Annabeth._

Aphrodite jumps from her fluffy pink throne in outrage, still searching for the speaker. How dare they suggest that her favorite couple doesn't belong together? Just because the love goddess is making it, er, challenging for the two (especially that boy) doesn't mean they aren't absolutely perfect for each other! Since the minute Annabeth Chase had informed Percy Jackson of his tendency to drool in his sleep (how adorable!), she had known that they belonged together. How could they not? She smiles sickeningly, her makeup giving an almost sinister effect. "Really?" she hisses angrily. "How do you work that out?"

_Have you heard them arguing?_ says the voice in a sort of motherly way, as if explaining why cookies should wait until after dinner.

Aphrodite raises a plucked eyebrow, so it shoots up to the top of her perfectly curled hair. "I have," she says coldly. "But this does not suggest that they are not in love."

She wears the voice gives a questioning look. _Really? _it asks, as if breaking some terrible news to a child or someone who couldn't handle the fact. _Last I checked, deary, they were fighting every minute of every day. Last I checked, fighting suggested hatred rather than love._

Her eyes—currently an emerald green—shine with the very emotion the voice had mentioned. Absolute hate was shining through them. If a mortal had been in the room, they were sure to die right there. The goddess's fury would be far too much for anyone other than a god to behold. "They are in love."

_Thanks to you, I suppose they will 'fall in love', that is within your powers, isn't it? You can make people 'soul mates' or something along those lines. If it is, I do not doubt that such a thing is coming true because of you. I know your powers allow you to do such things, and I do not deny that you use them liberally,_ the voice says in a cold whisper. _It just isn't natural._

Again, eyebrows that were worked on for far too long shoot to Aphrodite's hairline. For once, the goddess of love is at a loss for words. "They—it—you—"she starts hopelessly. "It—love—real—"she tries again, with just as little success.

_Face it. It's not them, Aphrodite. It's your doing. They aren't in love. They don't even like each other._

Now, the love goddess has many responses, most of which would be censored out of even the highest rated programs on television. She settles on one more appropriate for company. "They went on a quest together, and another! And, then, he saved her! He's in love! And, I've heard rumors about what will happen this summer, and it will be proof beyond proof!"

_The first quest, _the voice said coolly, _was nothing more than the boy being wrongly accused, the girl wanting to escape, and the satyr in need of a Searcher's License._

Aphrodite would have interrupted rather rudely had the voice chosen not to stop its assessment momentarily in preparation for the outburst. "Must I remind you of The Thrill Ride of Love?"

Had the voice had a face, surely it would have smirked. _Ah, my dear, we are nearing what the root of this is. Good work, but I assume you must hear the other evaluations to even consider my explanations._

"Exactly," Aphrodite says. "You'll be hard pressed to find some explanations, won't you?"

_The Sea of Monsters I believe was their next destination. They were to rescue a friend, correct?_

Aphrodite nods.

_And I am sure that you will be mentioning the obstacles. So, I shall beat you to it. Yes, Annabeth Chase listened to the song of the Sirens. And, the Percy boy rescued her, and comforted her. He had to. One of the members of his quest—or whatever you'd like to call it, as no one received permission to leave Camp grounds—had already gone. I ask you, would he have been able to complete the quest by himself?_

Aphrodite smiles victoriously. "You admit it!" she screams. "You admit that he needs her!"

_True. He did need her. And she needed him. It was, however, not a matter of happiness or love, but of survival._

"They need each other to survive," Aphrodite translates triumphantly.

_In a much more literal sense than what you are thinking, but yes, this is true. Anyway, _the voice says in a bored tone, _we must continue. Onto winter, then, I suppose._

"Wait! You've forgotten something huge! The girl—Annabeth—she kissed the boy—Percy, you know!" Aphrodite says, as if someone had tried to tell her that 2001 had gone by without 9-11.

_The most important event of the year, obviously, _comes the sarcastic reply, _was a thirteen-year-old kissing her friend on the cheek. Nothing's more exciting. Nothing at all. I do not deny that this happened, the kiss on the cheek. I am merely pointing out that it is not very extraordinary. Teenagers do have a tendency to do such things. Maybe I was wrong one account. I shall admit to the possibility that the two are friends._

"So, certainly they love each other!"

_Dear, Aphrodite, _the voice scolds. _I suppose that is true enough, perhaps. They have definitely developed a mutual acceptance of the other._

Aphrodite snorts. "'A mutual acceptance'! That's all. I'm sure!"

_Even if they do love each other, it is not unusual for friends to feel this way. It is, however, different from 'falling in love' quite a bit, _is the ringing response.

"Whatever," the love goddess lies unconvincingly.

_Moving on, this winter they were sent on a mission with Thalia, daughter of Zeus._

"Don't mind her. She's not important."

Thunder crackles from a distance. No further comments are made about the child of the Lord of the Sky.

_They were sent to Westover Hall—is that the name? And they, as I'm sure you'll point out—danced together. It was part of their cover._

"Sure," the goddess says in a tone that indicates the exact opposite.

_The two seemed rather uncomfortable, the boy especially. I trust you saw him. I did. He was horrified—at least, he looked it. The girl, she was biting her lip the whole time._

Cooed Aphrodite, "Wasn't it adorable? Those two—they're so cute together!"

The voice wisely chose to ignore this comment, either to avoid damaging her argument or to keep the focus where it needed to be. _And, they continued dancing…until the di Angelo siblings were taken by a monster. The boy—both heroic and stupid, that one is—he went to rescue them alone, eventually the rest found him, the Hunters of Artemis—_

Aphrodite spits into her fuzzy trash bin, the same pink as the chair she has long abandoned. Clearly, hearing of the eternal maidens is not something pleasant in the opinion of the love goddess.

—_well, they arrived, and shot the monster with wonderful accuracy, and sadly, the girl toppled off the cliff with the monster. Poor girl. Well, Artemis—_

The goddess spits again.

—_was kidnapped, and five people—Zoë, Bianca, Grover, Percy, and Thalia—_

The only thing that keeps Aphrodite for spitting into her trash bin a third time at the mention of three Hunters infecting the boy that she had plans for is the threat of her father sending a bolt of lightning her way for insulting his daughter yet again.

—_went on a quest to save Artemis—_

"And in Percy's case, Annabeth!" pipes Aphrodite helpfully.

An exaggerated sigh comes from the voice, but it continues speaking and says, _—yes, and Annabeth._

"Good," says Aphrodite tightly. "I was afraid you'd forgotten."

_How could I, _asks the voice, _with you_ _right here to remind me if I had forgotten?_

The goddess nods her head proudly. "I'm glad I could help," she says. It doesn't sound that she's the least bit glad of anything relating to the irksome little voice.

_And, so, the quest, the quest, blah, blah, you know the details. _The voice becomes louder. _I hope you would, anyway, as you did interfere in it. I believe you had a conference with the boy._

Aphrodite whined, "Apollo did, too!"

The voice, apparently, did not care what Apollo did because it continued its retelling without any indication it had been interrupted. _Interfering… _it repeats. _Against the laws…_

"Shut up! You're not my conscience!"

Still, no sign of the interruption comes from the voice. _And he did seem pretty uncomfortable. It certainly didn't sound like he was in love with the girl. I mean, he said, and I quote that he 'never said anything about love', and, that, dearest, was in your presence, and your presence inspires love in all of those who are in it. Don't you see? He's not the 'right' guy in your human soap opera, he's the 'I don't know what the Hades I'm doing! I'm not in love! She's my best friend, maybe…!' guy. Don't you get it?_

At last, Aphrodite admits that no, in fact, she did not get it.

_Percy's rash, angry, and tough. He's strong, powerful, and brave. Annabeth is a skilled planner. Does that remind you of anyone, any couple that may also be in your favor?_

The goddess frowns, trying to work it out. Is she reminded of a couple made of people with those characteristics? She crinkles her eyebrows, and presses her lips together in concentration. When it seems that she is going to explode from thought, the goddess at last breaks the silence. "Yes," she says.

_Who _asks the voice, _are you reminded of?_

"Ares and myself," says the goddess with no trace of emotion.

_And, are you perhaps, a bit too fond of the idea of making this relationship with humans—_

"Technically," says the goddess, "Percy and Annabeth are demigods."

—_a more successful version?_

It is this time Aphrodite that ignores the other's previous words, pretending they've not been said.

_Well, _said the voice, _if the silence is to remain, I shall leave you with a piece of information. You were right._

"About what? What was I right about?"

_Two things. These mortals, _says the voice with the barest trace of a smile in its tone, _just might be made for each other. I don't yet know. They could be. The Fates have a will of there own, you know, and it might, I daresay, be far stronger than whatever tricks you have up your sleeve._

Aphrodite gives a small whimper.

_And, I do not know what their willing is. It could very well be to your benefit. Their plans may fit with yours nicely._

Aphrodite's worried expression fades quickly into a smile.

_Second, you must guess, _finished the voice mysteriously. _You'll figure it out soon, maybe when I leave this conversation. I do not know for sure._

"Well," says Aphrodite finally.

_And, before I go, I've forgotten! I must ask one more thing: What are those rumors about?_

Her smile grows brighter. "You must guess. You'll figure it out soon," she repeated.

* * *

**AN: Quite the jump from my usual stuff, huh? Well, if you've read it. This is highly random. I find it rather entertaining to imagine this, but it's your job to either enjoy it or throw it aside in the first two minutes of reading it, mine is to write and proof-read, both of which I hope that I've done well. This is the longest chapter that I've ever written (in fanfiction) as far as I know, so that's hardly a good sign. It is intended to be a one-shot type thing, so obviously no more chapters will follow. I feel asleep with this idea in my head, and when I awoke, I dashed to my computer. Please inform me if the italics give you a headache or something, so it may be changed to something better for reading. Any advice is welcomed, but, as I would be filthy hypocrite if I did, I will not plead for your reviews. Thanks for reading!  
-Lexi :)**


End file.
